If you give up work to take care of a child under age 12 or an ill or disabled adult or child aged 12 or over you may not have the same number of social insurance contributions as you might if you had worked outside the home. We may ignore the years spent caring when we work out how you qualify for State Pension (Contributory). For more information, log on to www.welfare.ie.

If you are getting Child Benefit, there is no need to register as a homemaker.